Madison times. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1884-1???, 1887-11-12
amateur Surgery.

has not written book on the phllOSo- !
phy of RACES. Why should society be |
invaded ut one season by an unconquer- !
able desire TO go on roller skates, ut
another to smte the base ball; now |
to flock to lectures on literature. now .
TO give It's mind to concerted cookery? |
Like most other social phenomena it is !
probable that RACES are the result of |
very complex causes, acting with iler-
ant degrees of force on different people. |
There must always be a kernel of real |
enthusiasm out of which the movement I
begins to grow, and it must be supposed
that even rinking and acroStic guessing
were first invented by people who thor
oughly believed in them. This enthu
Sasm Is the fever which infects others,
predisposed in a hundred ways-by
.dleness, by the "immense ennui' OF
modern life, By the passion of emula-
ton, or by that exceptionally modern
invention the desire of simultaneously
improving oneself and other people
The cooking rage was q very genuine
one; it met all these needs, and even for
the moment held up before the Ameri-
can hOusekeeper and her cook pros
pect of real progress. 1t became evident
that something might be done with the
cold mutton, and that other rules might
be admitted into the kitchen than the
rule of theft and waste. But in due
time the fashion faded away, and its
place has been taken by more serious
occupation altogether.
The present excitement in the great
cities is what is called the ambulance
class, and for the moment the aim of
feminine ambition is to dress the leg.
not of slaughtered chicken, but,
of wounded man. In six lectures
you are guaranteed a knowledge, if not
complete and scientific, at least enough
for practical purposes, of veins and
arteries, of muscles and membranes, of
shin bones and collar bones and should
er blades. and are put in n position to
deal at moments notice with any of
these that may accidentally 60 wrong
in your presence. Moreover. there is
nothing disagreeable in the experienced.
which the unhappy medical student
has to purchase ut the price of many
unpleasant sights and sounds. The
whole thing is done in such a manner
as to spare the feelings, while it sharp
ems the faculties.
In London this was tried years ago,
and not wholly without success, and,
taking the cue. we see that it is COM
ing into vogue both in Philadelphia
and in this city. Presently we may
look to see it in other cities Then
look out for a big fight and furry
among the doctors.
II, anticipating the row and rumpus
among the learned pundits of our med
ical school, one comes to ask himself
whether there is anything in this am
bulance class movement or whether it
is merely fashion. an off-hand answer
is not so easv. To do its authors
justice, they do not presume to suppose
that they will after SIX lectures turn
out their students accomplished sur
geons. able to dispense with the doc
tors aid They wish, as they say. to
confine their object to first help that
is, to such help as will give the sufferer
better chance than he usually has di-
rectly after his accident. and before he
can be put in the doctors hands. Ger
tainly for this purpose some excellent
hints are given, for instance, that n
simple fracture may easily be turned
into a compound one by incautious
lifting, and that in case of limb
broken in Il street accident, to borrow a
couple of umbrellas and three or four
pOcket-handkerchiefs may have the
useful double result of providing very
good temporary splint and dispensing
crowd. Everybody, too. ought to
know how to proceed to recover the
apparently drowned, or persons half
suffocated.
1t seems from the experiment, as far
as it has been tried, in this city for ex.
, ample. that the greater part of the can
, didates for this kind of mpromptu sur.
! gerry are ladies. This is natural. But
women jump at conclusions. and those
who have learned their lesson by watch.
r ing few examples, are apt to think
I that what they are studying is far
more uniform than it usually is. A
surgeon knows that two cases are
= hardly ever alike, and that what il
really valuable is the skill which cal
exactly adapt the bandage to the
, wound whatever and wherever it may
be.
J Probably the good done by this am
bulance teaching will be exactly in pro
: portion to the modesty of the studentl
and their aims. There is certainly NJ
more reason for women to learn these
things than for men, the latter be
, far the more likely to be of use in case
t of accident Nevertheless, the forme
, may well gain in this way the rudi
ments of knowledge which they maj
often find useful in nursing their chill
n dren or any one else who may be dc
pendent on them. A woman will b.
= none the worse for having learned tn
nature of a blndaOe before she is eve